One of the common procedures in surgery is the dividing of a blood vessel or other tubular structure (ie. vas deferens) and the ligating of its severed ends. One conventional method is to apply a clip to each of the two portions to be ligated and then sever the portion between the clips with a blade. There are a variety of clips on the market of various structure, size, and material; permanent and absorbable. All of these require either the individual consecutive separate manipulations of clipping and cutting with a blade, or the use of very specialized, expensive, cumbersome instruments for activating the clipping and cutting mechanisms.
Prior art relating to this invention includes the following U.S. Pat. Nos. and publication: 2,524,337; 3,106,919; 4,026,294 and 4,046,148 and LDS (described on pages 103-107 in "Stapling in Surgery" by F. M. Steichen and M. M. Ravitch, Year Book Medical Publishers, Chicago, Ill. 1984). None of these patents or publication teach or suggests the invention as explained below.
One object of the present invention is to provide a novel device which is disposable, sterilized and individually packaged, and which permits the surgeon to more easily, more rapidly and more inexpensively ligate and divide a blood vessel during a surgical procedure.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the specification and claims which follow, taken together with the appended drawings.